Abu Jildeh and Al Armeet is a comic book published in Arabic by the Ma’touq Collective, a group of writers and artists from Palestine. The book compiles and sheds light on the the history and experience of early Palestinian insurgents, Abu Jildeh and Al Armeet. Labelled as bandits by British colonialists, yet locally celebrated as Palestinian Robin Hoods – for reallocating wealth from rich to poor – this book looks to reinsert the history of Palestinian insurgents from the 1920s into present narratives.
The publication was commissioned as part of Shifting Grounds, a Sharjah Biennial 13 off-site project held in collaboration between Sharjah Art Foundation, Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre, Ramallah Municipality and Khashabi Theatre, Haifa. Conceived by Lara Khaldi with the keyword ‘earth’ in relation to Palestine, Shifting Grounds was a five-day programme of book launches, performances and a symposium held in Ramallah in August 2017.